Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
28
Shuttle Taxis to Valiasr Sq
B2
29
Shuttle Taxis via Ali Qapu to Takestan Minibus Stand
B2
Sights
AROUND AZADI SQUARE & THE BAZAAR
Chehel Sotunنوتسلهچ
When Qazvin took its turn as Iran's capital, this attractive, colonnaded cube was Shah
Tahmasp's
royal palace
. Built in 1510, it was greatly remodelled in the Qajar era. Set in
the town's little central park it looks especially photogenic at night, with its delicate balus-
trades floodlit and its back-lit coloured-glass windows glowing through the foliage. Inside
is a
calligraphy museum
( 223 3320; admission US$0.50; 9am-1pm & 5-8.30pm)
.
PALACE
Qazvin Museum
( 223 4935; Helel-e-Ahmar St; admission US$1; 9am-12.30pm & 4-6.30pm winter,
9am-12.30pm & 5-7.30pm summer, closed Mon)
This spacious modern museum predom-
inantly features 19th-century decorative arts but the bottom floor has some 3000-year-old
bronzes and ceramics from the Alamut Valley.
MUSEUM
Bazaar & Craft workshops
The fascinating covered bazaar amply repays idle wandering. At the east end of the fine
Bazaar-e Vazim,
Saroye Vazir
is stacked high with bundled old carpets. It's one of several
wonderfully down-at-heel caravanserais between which you'll still find the odd door-
maker and metal workshop. A
cushion maker
reveals his craft in an alley off Molavi St
and, further southeast, there's a
traditional shoemaker
near Shohada Sq.
The very appealing Qajar-era
Nabi (Shah) Mosque
with its Mogul-style topknots also has
an impressively expansive courtyard. The 20th-century
Kantur Church
(Borj-e-Naghus)
has a blue-brick belfry dome and sits in a tiny Russian graveyard.
BAZAAR
OTHER LOCATIONS
Built in 1115, but extensively remodelled in the early 17th century, the
Masjed-e Jameh
(Jameh Mosque) has huge
iwans
and a fine marble mihrab.
